Adam Levine Defends His 'I Hate This Country' Remark on The Voice

Adam Levine may or may not have it in for America, but one thing’s for sure: He loves his dictionary.

After the Maroon 5 singer was overheard muttering, “I hate this country” when viewers ousted two of his contestants on The Voice Tuesday night, he faced a patriotic backlash, which he answered with the help of Webster’s.

Levine – who, by the way, was born and raised in Los Angeles – went to Twitter and cited the definitions for the words “misunderstand,” “lighthearted,” “humorless” and “joke.”

Levine later issued a statement via NBC:

“I obviously love my country very much and my comments last night were made purely out of frustration. Being a part of The Voice, I am passionately invested in my team and want to see my artists succeed. Last night s elimination of Judith and Sarah was confusing and downright emotional for me and my comments were made based on my personal dissatisfaction with the results. I am very connected to my artists and know they have long careers ahead, regardless of their outcome on the show.”

After the show, Levine admitted being “a little bit p––– off.”

He has only one team member remaining – country singer Amber Carrington – while the contestants coached by Usher, Shakira and Blake Shelton all stayed on.